No one likes losing, but given the circumstances, this wasn’t a terrible effort from the Hogs, and the numbers back that up. Things started bad when it was revealed that Au’Diese Toney was out for the game with an injury. Then Tennessee started 6 of 7 from beyond the arc. You knew the Vols weren’t going to shoot as bad as they did in Fayetteville, but that start was blazing. Tennessee led by as many as 24 before settling for a 50-29 lead at halftime. But then the Hogs roared back. Arkansas started denying open shots, crashing the offensive glass, making big shots of their own. The comeback fell just short, but it was at least enough to take the bad taste out of Hog fans’ mouths.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Confused? Check out the advanced stats glossary to learn more about the stats cited here.

The Good

• Chris Lykes. The senior had his best game in a while, posting 15 points and 3 assists before fouling out in 25 minutes.
• Kamani Johnson. Forced to play 24 minutes due to foul trouble with Jaylin Williams, Johnson made the most of his time, scoring 6 points and grabbing a team-best 8 rebounds, including 5 offensive.
• The fight. Down 24 at one point and 21 at halftime, the Hogs used multiple 10-0 runs to fight back into the game, getting it as close as two points late. This team doesn’t back down from anyone.

The Bad

• Perimeter defense without Au’Diese Toney. Toney was a surprise scratch due to an apparent ankle injury, throwing a lot of what we discussed in the preview out. An advantage for Arkansas’ defense became an advantage for Tennessee’s offense with the Hogs losing their top outside defender. The Vols hit 6 of their first 7 3-pointers and drained 12 of 18 for the game.
• Two late turnovers. The comeback was gutsy, but also draining. A failed inbounds pass to JD Notae with the Hogs down 74-70 with 1:25 left was bad enough… but Notae will be haunted by his bad pass to Devo Davis with 30 seconds left and Arkansas down 74-72. Notae tried to run the fastbreak but got a bit too aggressive. The Hogs had a chance to tie on that possession.

The Ugly

• Lykes’ fifth foul (and others). You wonder why Rick Barnes complained about the officiating after the first game? He knew there was a return game and wanted the officials (and the home crowd) to be on notice. Tennessee’s 30 free throws and 25 fouls drawn were their second-most in SEC play. If there’s a rubber match in Tampa, expect the officiating to be more like it was in Fayetteville than in Knoxville.

Game Score

As you might expect, Arkansas didn’t play terribly: if the Hogs’ game score of 70 was their average game score across the whole season they’d be about the 6th-best team in the SEC. But Tennessee’s offense made the shots it needed to win.

Team Stats

Arkansas beat Kentucky and LSU with the same formula: overcome a massive deficit on the offensive glass by playing lockdown shooting defense, shooting well on 2-pointers, and getting to the free throw line.

The formula broke down against Tennessee. The Hogs’ defense was game, forcing 17 turnovers, holding the Vols to just 22% offensive rebounding, and holding them to a pitiful 28% inside the arc. But the Hogs had two things working against them on Saturday: the loss of top perimeter defender Au’Diese Toney, and an officiating crew more than happy to grant the Vols ticky-tack fouls. Tennessee shot 30 free throws against 50 field goals and hit 12 of 18 from beyond the arc and that was all it took for a Volunteer win. The Hogs probably still could have overcome everything if they had shot better than 38% from inside the arc (the Hogs were exactly 58% against both Kentucky and LSU).

Credit to Tennessee for making the big jump shots, especially in the first half. When an opponent starts 6 of 7 from beyond the arc, there’s not a lot you can do. We diagrammed some of Tennessee’s offense in the preview, and sure enough, the Vols got tremendous ball movement, assisting on 74% of their made baskets.

The Hogs obviously need Toney back and healthy soon, but given the circumstances of his injury, the officiating, and Tennessee’s hot start, it’s hard not to be encouraged. In fact, I would agree with this, from John Brummett:

Player Stats

Lykes was Arkansas’ surprising MVP, going +9 with a game-best score of +8.2. But Devo, yikes. Minus-14 in 20 minutes with a minus-5.7 game score. The Hogs really needed him to step up as a perimeter defender with Toney out and he struggled.

The Vols got a balanced effort from their guards. No one dominated but no one played poorly either.

Up Next

The regular season is over and the SEC Tournament is here. The Hogs are a 4-seed, earning a double-bye through Wednesday and Thursday in Tampa. LSU earned the 5-seed, so they will have to survive the 12/13 winner on Thursday and will be Arkansas’ likely quarterfinal opponent. It’s not a fun matchup, but the Hogs have beaten the Tigers twice this season. Auburn likely awaits in the semifinals, with a potential Kentucky-Tennessee semifinal on the other side of the bracket.